


Tell Me You're Here to Stay

by lilacboyfriends



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Direction still exists, Popstar!Liam, and flirty liam, fanboy!niall, it's gonna be really fluffy tbh, niall just isn't in it, with a blushing niall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-03-17
Packaged: 2018-03-18 09:02:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3563921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacboyfriends/pseuds/lilacboyfriends
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There was no way. No possible way. Right? Niall never won anything in his life. Never won any sports games because he wasn’t very athletic. Never won any board games because he didn’t have the patience to play them correctly. Never won any other sorts of contests because he just didn’t have any luck. So, how was it that he won the most impossible contest to win in all of England? Like, honestly, Niall? Niall Horan, the little blonde lad from Ireland, the one who spent most of his free time watching music videos aimed at teenage girls and not 20 year old men? It just didn’t seem possible.</p><p>But it happened."<br/>---<br/>See also: The one where a twenty year old music student and fanboy, Niall Horan, wins a cover contest and gets to spend a day with One Direction's openly gay band member, Liam Payne.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written any fanfiction in close to two years now... yikes. If you have any feedback, comments, or questions, feel free to send me a message to lilacboyfriends on tumblr. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it!

Niall had been sitting in the parking lot for over half an hour, not daring to get out of the car and miss the announcement. The anticipation he had had during his classes was driving him insane and he barely made it through the 9:00am English lecture without ripping holes in his notebook paper from how carelessly he was scribbling down the PowerPoint notes. The day seemed to drag on and on, and 3 o’clock just could not get there fast enough. It almost felt like whoever controlled time decided to slow it down to half its normal speed just for today, just to mess with him and make him that much more anxious. And the small talk between the radio host and the special guest wasn’t calming his nerves.

“You know, Liam, I think I heard someone say that you’ve got some special news to share with us…” the radio host announced. Niall’s attention was fully grasped at this point, ignoring the hunger in his stomach and turning up the volume on his stereo instead. “Something about a contest?”

“Oh…” Liam, the special guest on the show, replied, stretching out the word for much longer than necessary. “Yeah, I think I know what you’re talking about, James. Have you not heard about the contest we held?” he asked the radio host, who was apparently named James. Not like Niall cared much. He was only here for the announcement. And this build up was killing him.

“I have, actually. Your band mates called in a few weeks ago and told me about it. You’ve put out a contest for a fan to spend a day with you, yeah?” James asked quizzically. Niall rolled his eyes. Everyone in the entire country of England knew about this stupid contest. He didn’t see why they needed all this preliminary conversation about it. It must have made for better entertainment, he supposed.

“That’s right,” Liam replied, and Niall could hear the smile in his voice. He could even picture the little crinkles appearing by his eyes, making him look that much more adorable. He sighed; wishing, praying, and hoping that one day he might be able to see those crinkles in person. “One lucky fan gets to hang out with me for the day. Though I’m not sure what we’ll be doing, I’ve been told there will be pizza. So I’m sure whatever we end up doing will be loads of fun. As long as they like pizza, of course!” he chuckled.

“Well, today’s the day, yeah? Want me to give a little drum roll?”

“Yes, of course! It builds the suspense,” Liam laughed.

Within seconds, a drum roll could be heard through the speakers in Niall’s car and his heart started racing.

“Congratulations to our contest winner……… Niall Horan!” Liam cheered, voice bright and bubbly. Another studio button must have been pressed because the sound of pre-recorded cheers and shouts could be heard as James was clapping. “Niall, I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be seeing you on June 22nd! You’ll receive a phone call in a few days from management to explain the details. I can’t wait to meet you!”

Wait.

What.

  
…………………….

  
There was no way. No possible way. Right? Niall never won anything in his life. Never won any sports games because he wasn’t very athletic. Never won any board games because he didn’t have the patience to play them correctly. Never won any other sorts of contests because he just didn’t have any luck. So, how was it that he won the most impossible contest to win in all of England? Like, honestly, Niall? Niall Horan, the little blonde lad from Ireland, the one who spent most of his free time watching music videos aimed at teenage girls and not 20 year old men? It just didn’t seem possible.

But it happened.

Just two days after the radio announcement, Niall received a phone call from a number he didn’t recognize. Normally, he’d let the call slide through to voicemail, but he was expecting a call from an unknown number now. Swallowing thickly, he swiped his thumb across the bottom of the screen and pressed the phone to his ear.

“U-um, hello?” he croaked, biting into his bottom lip harshly. Why was this such a big deal? It wasn’t like he’d be talking to Liam Payne himself. At least not yet anyway.

“Yes, hello, may I speak to Niall Horan?” a bright voice returned his greeting. It was a young female from what he could tell, and that definitely calmed his nerves a bit.

“This is him,” Niall replied, nodding his head and realizing just seconds later that the woman couldn’t actually see him. He smacked himself on the forehead and leaned against the wall for support.

“Hi, Niall! This is Francesca Summers, one of the managers of One Direction. Do you know why I’m calling?” she asked, her voice sounding even more bright than it had before. It was actually sort of strange sounding now that he was paying more attention to it.

“Because of the contest?” he guessed, figuring there wasn’t really any other reason why one of One Direction’s managers would be calling him or why they would have his number.

“Yes, sir. Congratulations again on winning the contest! My team and I, including Liam, were all very impressed by your cover. You’ve got a lovely singing voice,” Francesca complimented him, and Niall could hear the smile in her voice. He mumbled a little ‘thank you’ in return. “Yes, well, anyway. As far as details go, in your contest entry, you submitted your address. So if it’s all right with you, we have arranged for a vehicle to fetch you from your current residence on the evening of the 21st and drive you to London. You’ll stay in a hotel for that night and then Liam will meet you in the morning. You’ll have Paul there with you for the day just for security reasons, but he won’t bother you. You probably won’t even notice he’s there,” she explained, adding a slight giggle to the last thing she said. “Oh, and everything is already paid for! All you have to do is enjoy your day!”

“Oh, okay!” Niall affirmed his recognition. He didn’t even care if he sounded too excited. The truth was that he really was too excited. But why shouldn’t he be? He had just been told he’d be spending an entire day with his favorite boyband member. He had every right to be excited. “Um, what should I, like, wear?” he asked the woman on the other end of the line, chewing on his bottom lip nervously. He hoped she didn’t find the question immature.

“You can wear whatever you’d like. But I’d wear something concert appropriate. The boys do have a show that night that you’ll be attending,” Francesca clarified for him.

“I get to go to a concert, too?!” Niall squeaked, slapping a hand over his mouth. Now he _definitely_ sounded too excited. “I mean, yeah, of course. Concert appropriate sounds great,” he corrected himself, clearing his throat. “Okay, well, that’s brilliant. Is there anything else I should know?”

“I think that’s it, really. After the concert, unless Liam wants to do something else, we’ll drive you back to the hotel and then return you home the next morning. Does that work for you?”

“Yes, that sounds great! Thank you so, so much,” Niall answered, showing his appreciation the best he could over the phone.

“You’re welcome, Niall! We’ll see you on the 21st!” Francesca returned his cheeriness and then said a short farewell before hanging up.

June 21st. Niall quickly set a countdown on his phone for the date, knowing that the days would drag on just as much as his morning had, but that didn’t leave him any less excited. This was all too surreal. He was going to meet _the_ Liam Payne in less than two months.


	2. Chapter 2

Room 255 was a bit of a disaster. Liam always had the intention of being neat and orderly when they were put in hotel rooms, but the reality was that it never stayed that way. He would often put off getting ready for events until the last minute, and then he’d be throwing things across the room in attempts to find what he was looking for amongst his suitcases. It was slightly comical to the other boys because Liam would get so embarrassed if they came over to his room after a show. It always looked like a tornado had run its course. And tonight was no exception.

“Mate, you really need to look up some organizational tips online or something,” Zayn chastised, looking around at the clothes and blankets littered around the room.

“I don’t need organizational tips,” Liam argued, rolling his eyes at the awful suggestion. “I know how to be organized. I just don’t know how to not be a lazy piece of shit on days of concerts. That’s what causes this disaster. I’m always running around last minute. You know that; I’ve explained this before.”

“Why do you insist on finding the ‘perfect outfit’ every time?” Zayn made sure to act out the air quotes around his words. “You could show up naked and the team would make sure you were looking flawless before heading out on stage.”

“I don’t want the team to pick clothes for me. I like wearing my own clothes. If I was gonna have them choose my outfits, I would have started a long time ago,” Liam sighed as he started cleaning up the mess he made.

“Okay, but we have another show tomorrow night and the night after that,” Zayn started, leaning down to pick up a pair of jeans from the floor. “Why would you clean up now if we aren’t leaving for a few days and you know this place is just going to get messy again?”

“Because I’m going to attempt to not let it get messy again. Plus, Niall’s coming to the hotel tomorrow and, I mean, I know it’s unlikely because Francesca probably won’t let him, but there’s still a small possibility that he could come over here and see my room. And I don’t want him thinking I’m a slob….” Liam explained, folding up a hoodie and placing it in the bottom of his suitcase.

“Why would it matter if he thinks you’re a slob? It’s not like he’s going to take pictures and post them all over the internet. He’s a fan. All he wants is pictures with you. He’s not going to make you look bad,” Zayn shook his head, standing up again and sitting on the edge of the king sized bed. Liam sighed, yet again, and tried to dismiss the idea.

“Forget about it. Can I not clean my room just because I prefer a tidy room over whatever this shit show is?” he questioned, sitting on the bed as well as he folded a few items of clothing and piled them up to be put away. Zayn wasn’t ready to let it go though.

“Are you…you’re not cleaning to impress Niall, are you?” Zayn suggested, leaning on the palm of his hand as he searched Liam’s face.

“What? No, of course not. Zayn, I just told you I want a clean room. That’s all,” Liam replied definitively. “I don’t even know what Niall looks like…”

“Yes, you do. You were there when Fran was picking out the winner. You definitely saw what he looks like.”

“Barely. Videos don’t always capture the complete picture. Plus the camera adds ten pounds, you know? So, he probably doesn’t even look the same in person as he does in the video,” Liam tried to reason, waving a hand in Zayn’s direction. “You’re ridiculous if you think I’m cleaning my room to impress him. He’s a fan. Even if I do think he’s attractive, it’s not like I’d be able to do anything about it. We’re so busy and I wouldn’t want to cause that kind of stress on someone. Long distance is messy and only makes both parties depressed.”

With a pause to make sure Liam was truly finished speaking, Zayn chuckled. “You’ve certainly put some thought into this…”

“No, I haven’t,” Liam argued adamantly. He looked at Zayn seriously. “At least not specifically because of Niall. I don’t even know him. I’m just saying I’ve thought about dating a fan in general. It would never work.”

Deeply sighing, Liam stood up and grabbed his room key from the table. “I’m going downstairs to play some pool. Do you wanna join me?”

Zayn was never one to say no to a game of billiards, so he agreed easily.

Strolling down the hallway and to the elevator, Liam pressed the down button and stood back with Zayn to wait for the doors to open. He scrolled through his notifications on Twitter as they waited, hoping that Zayn’s mind would drift to another subject so they could talk about something else.

“What are you guys gonna do when he gets here?” he spoke up, looking at Liam’s concentrated face as he stared at his phone. Liam looked up just as the elevator doors were opening.

“Well, he’s getting here tomorrow night, so we won’t be doing anything until the next morning. I was told he’ll be sleeping here, but we won’t see each other until morning because it would look bad if I was seen with him the night before,” he shrugged as they walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. “I mean, I’m not really sure why, but it’s not a big deal.”

“Right, but what are you gonna do that morning and afternoon? Do you have a schedule for the day you guys are spending together? Because Francesca didn’t tell us anything. Harry, Louis, and I were wondering what that was all about. Do you get to make up the day yourself, or is the schedule like a secret, or…”

“Yeah, there’s a little bit of a schedule, but we worked on it together. Most of it was my idea,” Liam explained to his band mate, waiting impatiently as the rickety elevator crawled down floor by floor. He had a bit of a fear of elevators. Especially old ones like this one.

“Oh, okay,” Zayn nodded, following Liam out of the elevator once the doors opened. They walked into the smell of paint. A hotel maintenance employee was applying a fresh coat of paint to the space between the two elevators. Liam offered the man a smile and received a little wave in reply.

“Are you nervous at all?” Zayn asked as they rounded the corner and walked into the arcade area. Liam instantly went over to the wall and grabbed the pool sticks from the glass case.

“Nervous for what?” Liam questioned curiously. He had nothing to be nervous about in his eyes. Sure, he had admired Niall already just from watching the cover, but he’d met famous people before. Meeting a talented fan shouldn’t be anything to get nervous over… right?

“To meet Niall? Come on, Liam, I know you’re excited. You talk about it every time you get the chance. You don’t think I notice all the times you mention his name? Or how excited you get when someone else mentions it?” Zayn asked incredulously, taking a stick from Liam and resting it against the table as he organized the balls in the rack. “You’re gone for him already and you haven’t even met him yet,” he laughed, looking up at Liam.

“Yeah, well, maybe I do think he’s cute. What are you gonna do? Sue me?” Liam joked back, not letting Zayn’s teasing make him angry. He rolled his eyes and set up the cue ball at the opposite end of the table.

“I just hope you can control yourself when you meet him. I know how easily you can charm the pretty boys, but remember that some of this will be papped, so you’ll have to keep the flirting to a minimum,” Zayn reminded Liam. As if he needed the reminder.

“Yeah, yeah,” Liam rolled his eyes again, but this time it was with a bit more fondness. He stood back and let Zayn break, thinking to himself that he should tell Francesca to switch out bowling for billiards on Thursday’s schedule.

So, yeah. Maybe he was a little nervous, but he certainly wasn’t going to admit it.


End file.
